One of the delights of life is eating with friends; second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.

Laurie Colwin

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Cucumber & Sour Cream Salad

I make this all the time. That's because it's so good, it's really easy, you can make it any time of the year, and it goes well with so many of the things I cook.

I use all different kinds of cucumbers - English, Kirby, and regular.

The amounts of ingredients are vague because you have to sort of eye-ball it depending on how much you want to make, so read the recipe in its entirety before you start. Also, now that Greek yogurt is readily available , depending on what you are serving this salad with, you may want to try it in place of or mixed with the sour cream. Full-fat yogurt is best; I wouldn't go all the way down to zero per cent here.

Serves 2 to 4

1 English cucumber, or 2 Kirby cucumbers, or 1 large regular cucumber:English – wash, score with a fork, cut in half, scoop out seeds, and cut into half moonsKirby – wash, score with a fork, and cut into thin slicesRegular – peel, cut in half, scoop out seeds, and cut into half moons.Sugar – start with 1 tablespoon, but be prepared to add moreCider vinegar – about 2 teaspoonsSalt to tasteSour cream – about ¼ cupDill (optional - for taste)Paprika (optional - for color)

Take a small bowl and put in sugar - more than you think. Start with 1 tablespoon, but you may need to add more when you're tasting the dressing at the end.

Moisten the sugar with cider vinegar - less than you think (you can always add more of this to taste too) - enough to dissolve the sugar. Start with 2 teaspoons vinegar to 1 tablespoon sugar, and be prepared to adjust. Add a pinch of Maldon Salt. Mix well.

Spoon in about ¼ cup sour cream. You can use low-fat sour cream, although I do not. However, don’t use non-fat sour cream. That’s a product, not a food. Whisk ingredients together. At this point taste and add more vinegar, or sugar, or salt, if necessary.

Add the cucumbers, and stir.

Right before serving, sprinkle with chopped dill (I just snip it with kitchen shears). Also, you can sprinkle on a little paprika when serving. Both are optional; the dill adds flavor, the paprika, color.

Chill until ready to serve. Does not keep particularly well overnight, but two hours in advance works well. Can also do a few minutes before serving.